Sheree Barrett-Lennard (lead image) is the managing director and chief content officer at content marketing agency Reeton Media. In this guest post, Barrett-Lennard offers top tips to ensure your brand’s story is just not more white noise…
Arianna Huffington once said, “People think in stories, not statistics, and marketers need to be master storytellers.”
Storytelling is a strategy being employed by some of the world’s fastest growing companies who are finding it an effective way to cut through the overwhelming volume of marketing messages bombarding consumers, and reach and engage with their customers on a deeper level.
According to research by Headstream, if people love a brand story, 55 per cent are more likely to buy the product, 44 per cent will share the story, and 15 per cent will immediately purchase the product.
But the stories behind brands can’t just add to the white noise.
Brand storytelling requires an engaging narrative that produces a meaningful connection with your existing or potential customers. It needs to be impactful. Good storytelling invites customers into your world and creates opportunities for them to relate to the brand.
Stories that are authentic, inspirational and engaging have the power to build a strong connection with audiences and influence their thinking. In fact, effective storytelling can boost a brand’s conversion rate by 30 percent, reports Search Engine Watch.
It’s important to seek relatable, authentic stories that can inspire and connect with your audience. Then you need to consider the right medium to tell it and that involves looking at all relevant platforms. This will help you find the most engaging way to present your story to your audience.
Take global design juggernaut Canva, who is successfully discovering new ways of connecting to their audience through storytelling, largely by sharing success stories of small businesses and entrepreneurs in their community. These first-hand personal accounts, tell stories about the ways in which the company is transforming the lives of others – and in turn inspiring new Canva users to have confidence in the brand and product through the positive stories of others in the Canva community.
So where should you start with your brand’s story? Think about personalising the story behind the brand, your ethos, and your people (everyone from the founder or CEO to an intern). What is your brand doing that matters and how are you improving the lives of your customers?
Top tips for SMEs: how to master brand storytelling
* Consider your brand’s history, vision, values and mission. Reflect on successes, as well as challenges – tell the story behind the brand without too much gloss.
* Establish a consistent tone of voice for all your brand’s messaging. Your brand should sound like one human, as opposed to a faceless corporate entity with conflicting, inconsistent voices.
* Be authentic. Authenticity builds trust between your brand and customers, and is the key to growing your audience and customer base.
